Which comes first – the accessory or the phone?

Remember waiting for weeks for accessories to be available for your new phone? Being extra careful not to scratch your new gadget until some company had time to get the new device, finalize their case design, produce it, and get it ready to ship it? Apparently those days are gone, and accessories are available before the gadget itself now. I actually had a new iPhone 5 case for a week before the iPhone 5 itself actually arrived – and it was a perfect fit. Are the gadget manufacturers releasing tech details to accessories manufacturers in advance, or is the rumor mill getting so good that they uncover the details themselves? No matter, there seem to be a lot of accessories in advance of the release of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Granted some Samsung Galaxy S4 Accessories, like styluses, are a bit generic and can be used by other devices. Other products, like Samsung Galaxy S4 Cases, do rely on precise measurements, and you’d think they would need some lead time to check the fit before getting the cases to market. Whatever you’re looking for – a stylus, screen protector, car charger, or Samsung Galaxy S4 Covers – you’re likely to find what you need in advance of the phone’s release date.

So what’s happening? Are people leaking details and phones are often only getting minor updates – to the exterior, at least – so it’s easy to guess what a new case should look like well in advance of release?

Somebody should have a word with Google. Accessories for Nexus devices are either non-existent or just too late to market. Google’s Christmas video showed a Nexus 10 dock. Three months later there’s still no sign of it.

I know in the case of the iPhone there appears to be an active market for leaks and parts of next-gen phones, with a lot of companies speculatively making cases and accessories based on those leaks. To the point where some rumor sites have occasionally shown actually made products that have been designed on a false rumor – They are literally willing to make cases that don’t fit any phone ever, just in case they might fit the new iPhone.

Why? I buy a new phone every year or at most every two years. To me, it’s a consumable, and I don’t care about a scratch.

And what about other great accessories like remote controls, thermometers, audio docks? Well, I don’t believe in total integration of all common day functionality on my smartphone. I really don’t need to read the temperature of my living room when I’m at work, and I think a “normale” remote control, with real keys and no need to unlock before usage etc., is way more usable then a smartphone which I cannot control without looking at it. And I don’t need an audio dock because all my music is centralized on my home server and accessible through SMB and DLNA/PnP, which works for all our mediaplayers and smartphones/tablets.
(to be honest, being a gadget freak myself, I’ve tried all of these accessories for several weeks, but none of them could compete with the stand-alone originals)

So, just the phone? Yeah, just the phone. I need to be able to make calls, SMS, whatsapp, Facebook, e-mail, surf, listen to webradio, and play the occasional game, with a battery that lasts at least a day, and a crisp display. I don’t care about the rest.

I'm currently working on a review of the Fitbit Charge 2. The Charge 2 is an updated version of the Fitbit Charge HR that I reviewed last year. It combines the smaller sized wrist wearable looks with the features of the Fitbit Surge. Stay tuned for my review coming soon.